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The restaurant opened in January 1987.[1] It was a joint venture between chef Marco Pierre White and restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin. The two had met while White was head chef at Lampwick's restaurant, and Platts-Martin subsequently purchased Harveys and placed White in charge of the kitchen.[2] Platts-Martin later said that "it was in a terrible state but I bought it out of youthful optimism and invited Marco to become head chef. I knew Marco was an extremely talented chef who cooked sensational food but I was very unsure how things would turn out."[1] A year after opening, the restaurant was closed in order to be renovated. David Collins was the architect, who had previously worked on Pierre Koffman's La Tante Claire.[3]

Several chefs worked at Harveys who went on to be successful elsewhere, including Philip Howard, who won two Michelin stars at The Square,[4] and Gordon Ramsay, who worked at Harveys between 1988 and 1991 and went on to become White's protégé at the restaurant and subsequently own a restaurant empire.[5][6][7] White once described the team working at Harveys as "the SAS of kitchens".[8] The restaurant was frequented by celebrities such as Oliver Reed and Koo Stark.[9]

In 1993, White chose to leave Harveys and Platts-Martin purchased White's share of the restaurant.[1] The restaurant closed in August 1993, and was subsequently reopened as "The Bistro", meant to be a sister restaurant to "The Canteen" which White co-owned with actor Michael Caine.[10] It was subsequently relaunched under chef Bruce Poole as Chez Bruce in 1995.[11] White had left because he felt restricted by the size of Harveys and felt that he needed to move to larger premises in order to win a third Michelin star.[12]

White served a menu consisting of French cuisine which included a warmly received dish of tagliatelle and oysters.[13][14] Other dishes on the menu also included a dish similar to that served at Pierre Koffman's La Tante Claire, a pig's trotter served with morels.[15] Desserts included a lemon tart,[16] and dishes such as "Crackling Pyramide" and soufflés of chocolate served with chocolate sauce.[9] A nougat ice cream dish called "Biscuit Glacé" appeared on the dessert menu at Harveys and also appeared in White's cookbookWhite Heat.[17]

Drew Smith, the editor of the Good Food Guide described Harveys as "This is a meteor hurtling through the restaurant firmament powered by the extraordinary passion of one young man".[8]Jonathan Meades visited the restaurant during 1987 for The Times, describing his meal as "breathtaking".[18] He ate the tagliatelle and oysters main course, and the restaurant was subsequently named the "Newcomer of the Year" in the Times restaurant awards for that year.[18] It was subsequently named the Times Restaurant of the Year in 1988.[3]

White's work at Harveys has subsequently been held in high regard among fellow chefs,[19] and the restaurant is where White became known as a celebrity chef.[20] Within a year of opening, the restaurant won a Michelin star.[21] It subsequently won a second in the 1990 Michelin Guide, making White the youngest chef ever to have held two Michelin stars.[9]